1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a consumable cassette configured to store a recording material and an ink sheet, and a recording apparatus including a recording mechanism to which a consumable cassette is attached and which records an image on a recording material. The present invention more particularly relates to a consumable cassette including a space portion to be combined with a recording mechanism, and a recording apparatus including an attaching portion to which a consumable cassette is detachably attached.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recording apparatus has functions of a printer, a photocopier and a facsimile machine, and is configured to allow a recording head as a recording unit to record an image (including characters and symbols) on a recording material such as a recording sheet based on image information. As the recording material, various sheet materials are used such as paper, cloth, a plastic sheet and a sheet for OHP. There are recording apparatuses including recording systems of a serial type and a linear type. In the serial type, while main scanning to move the recording head along the recording material is repeated alternately with sheet feeding (sub-scanning) of the recording material, the image is recorded. On the other hand, in the linear type, an elongated recording head extends in a width direction of the recording material. While an image for one line is recorded together by use of the head, the only sheet feeding of the recording material (the sub-scanning) is performed to record the image.
Moreover, the recording apparatus can be classified into recording systems of a thermal transfer type, a heat sensitive type, an ink jet type, a laser beam type and a wire dot type. Among these systems, in the thermal transfer system (a thermal transfer recording apparatus), a recording material is brought into contact under pressure with a recording head via an ink sheet. While the ink sheet is run synchronously with conveyance of the recording material, ink is heated and transferred so as to record the image. There are a sublimation type and a melting type of thermal transfer recording apparatuses. In a recording apparatus to transfer the ink as in the thermal transfer recording apparatus, as consumables, an ink sheet impregnated with the ink and the recording material to which the ink is to be transferred are used. In general, a conventional recording apparatus is adapted to store the ink sheet and the recording material in exclusive-use cassettes, respectively. These cassettes are loaded to the recording apparatus from separate directions, respectively.
For example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. H01-139563 discusses an ink sheet storage section to store an ink sheet. A cassette configuration of the section is proposed in which the ink sheet is stored and which is detachably attached to a recording apparatus. In this example, an opening is disposed in a part of the cassette so as to bring the surface of the ink sheet coated with ink into contact with a recording material. When an ink sheet cassette is handled, dust and fingerprint are sometimes attached to the ink coated surface of the ink sheet via this opening.
On the other hand, in a proposed construction of a recording material storage section to store the recording material, a user opens a package containing the ink sheet cassette and a bundle of recording materials, and takes out the recording material to transfer the material to a cassette for exclusive use prepared separately. Moreover, the exclusive-use cassette containing the recording material is attached to the recording apparatus to constitute the recording material storage section. A recording surface of this type of recording material is generally set so as to improve a fixing property of the ink and achieve high-quality image formation. To record an appropriate image, front and back surfaces of the recording material need to be confirmed, and a recording surface needs to be directed in a predetermined direction and stored in the cassette. Therefore, when the recording material is stored in another cassette for exclusive use, many complicated preparing operations are required. When the material is transferred from the package to the cassette, attention needs to be paid so that fingerprint and dust are not attached to the recording surface. Therefore, it cannot be said that this construction has an excellent handing property.
In the construction in which the recording material is stored in the cassette for exclusive use in this manner, during an operation to store the recording material, dirt (attachment of dust, garbage and fingerprint) and a crack (deformation, breakage) are easily generated on the recording surface of the recording material. The dirt and crack are a cause for deterioration of an image quality of the recorded image.
In addition, in this type of recording apparatus, it is expected that a user arbitrarily selects various finishes such as color photograph print, print for exclusive use in a monochromatic photograph and seal and various sizes (a postcard size, an L-size, a 2L-size, etc.) to perform printing. To execute optimum recording which meets user's expectation, a corresponding type of combination of the ink sheet and the recording material can be used in accordance with the finish. When the printing is not performed based on the optimum combination, the expected finish is not achieved. The image cannot be recorded as expected in accordance with an original performance, or the recording is not easily achieved in some case.
Therefore, when the recording material and the ink sheet are handled by use of the separate cassettes for exclusive use, the user needs to select the ink sheet cassette and the recording material cassette so as to appropriately cope with the recording. However, the user might make a mistake in selecting the appropriate combination.
For example, the ink sheet cassette for exclusive use in the monochromatic photograph is combined with the recording material cassette for exclusive use in the monochromatic photograph in which gradation of the monochromatic photograph can sufficiently be achieved. After the recording is performed with this combination, the ink sheet cassette is replaced with a chromatic ink sheet cassette for a purpose of printing the color photograph, but the user forgets to replace the recording material cassette. In such an assumed case, color development in a printed matter might not be obtained as expected.
In future, the recording in which this type of recording apparatus is utilized is expected to enlarge. There is a possibility of increase of types of usable consumables which meet user's requirements. In such a case, it is necessary to determine an appropriate combination of the recording material cassette and the ink sheet cassette. Alternatively, it is necessary to determine the types of the ink sheet cassette and the recording material cassette attached to the recording apparatus and to notify whether or not the combination is appropriate. Therefore, a situation is caused in which a new determination unit and a new notification unit are required for transmission of information to a printer side.
When the ink sheet cassette and the recording material cassette are independently and individually handled, respectively, problems of storing properties of the cassettes cannot be ignored. That is, when the cassettes are removed from the recording apparatus and stored, one of the ink sheet cassette and the recording material cassette is easily lost. To use a different type of recording material, the recording material which is not used needs to be taken out of the cassette for exclusive use. The user has to prepare a storage member or space for storing this taken recording material.
Several proposals have been made in order to solve a problem and obviate an inconvenience in a case where the cassettes for exclusive use in the ink sheet and the recording material are individually used as described above, respectively.
One of the proposals is that the ink sheet and the recording material be stored in one cassette to handle an integrated consumable cassette. According to this proposal, two types of consumables, that is, the ink sheet and the recording material are stored in one cassette. Two types of consumables can be integrated and loaded to the recording apparatus from one common direction (e.g., a side surface of the recording apparatus). Therefore, a handling property of the consumable cassette can be improved.
As examples of such an integrated construction, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. S62-87368 and S62-151370 discuss a consumable cassette in which a recording material storage section and an ink sheet storage section are arranged in a longitudinal direction of a recording material (a direction along a conveyance direction). In consequence, the handing property can be improved. In addition, the cassette can be thinned. Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. H02-44058 discusses an ink sheet cassette in which a supply side of an ink sheet is disposed close to a wind-up side, thereby realizing miniaturization of the ink sheet storage section.
As another example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H04-65270 discusses a cassette structure of a thermal transfer recording apparatus having excellent consumable storing property and space saving property. In this example, when a recording material cassette and an ink sheet cassette are not attached to a printer, the cassettes are stacked. To attach both the cassettes to the printer, the cassettes are opened and arranged in parallel.
However, according to the constructions of the consumable cassettes described in the above publications, when the cassette is loaded to the recording apparatus in a recordable state, the ink sheet storage section is disposed in parallel with the recording material storage section along a supply direction of a recording material conveyance path. The sections are arranged in substantially the same plane.
Therefore, since the recording apparatus includes a conveyance mechanism of the ink sheet, a conveyance mechanism of the recording material and further the recording head, an installation area of the apparatus necessarily enlarges. That is, the maximum installation area of the recording apparatus including the attached consumable cassette for use is not smaller than a size obtained by adding up an arrangement area of the storage section in which the recording material having the maximum size is stored and an arrangement area of the storage section of the ink sheet.
In addition, a factor for the enlargement of the installation area of the apparatus is extension of the apparatus caused by disposing the ink sheet storage section in a direction in which the recording material is conveyed in addition to the recording material storage section as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H04-65270. In many cases, this portion extended along the supply direction corresponds to a longitudinal direction of the recording material. Therefore, such dimensional inclination of the structure in the longitudinal direction is a factor for destroying a balance between the installation area of the recording apparatus and a height direction of the apparatus.
Moreover, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H04-65270, there is a peculiar problem in a case where a configuration of the cassette changes. For example, the cassette has different constructions during the storage and during the recording. That is, in this case, every time the cassette is loaded to or removed from the recording apparatus, such an excess operation as to change the configuration of the cassette, for example, an opening/closing operation is required.
The operation is manually or electromotively performed to change the configuration of the cassette to a state of the stored cassette or a state of the cassette during a recording operation.
Especially, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H04-65270, when the cassette is removed from the recording apparatus, the recording material and the ink sheet are exposed and opened. Therefore, the dirt (the attachment of the dust and fingerprint) and the crack (the deformation, the breakage) are easily generated on the recording material and the ink sheet. When the cassette is attached to the recording apparatus, the ink sheet and the recording material need to be adjusted into appropriate states in a recording position. It is expected that a long time is required until the recording operation is restarted.